the great happiness space: tale of an osaka love thief

I’ve been meaning to post about this documentary for a while now — I watched it earlier this year and was blown away. The Great Happiness Space: Tales of an Osaka Love Thief, directed by Jake Clenell, is a heartbreaking exploration of the emotionally complex world of Japanese host clubs. Host clubs are sort of a modern reincarnation of the geisha tradition, with reversed gender roles. Women with cash to spare go to the clubs, flip through books of the different hosts (priced according to demand), and pick the one they like best. The host then provides the “boyfriend experience,” flirting, giving advice, and making each woman feel special — even though she might be competing with several other women for his attention.

The many levels of contradiction and the suspension of disbelief required on the part of the clients are what make this relationship so compelling. Once a woman picks a host, she can never be “with” another host at the same club. She does everything she can — spending more money on a private room, buying more and more expensive bottles of champagne — to get the host to pay more attention to her, with the hopes of eventually becoming his real girlfriend. The hosts do their best to string the women along and keep them spending.

In an unexpected twist, the majority of clients are prostitutes. Their profession is seen as shameful and doesn’t allow for real relationships and emotional intimacy. They are accepted by the hosts, partly because they are some of the few women with the money to pay for the hosts’ expensive services (they can spend up to $10,000 in one night), and partly, I think, because they occupy similar roles. The hosts, meanwhile, have to come to terms with the fact that these women are essentially prostituting themselves so that they can continue spending time with them.

One of the girls says, “I sell my body to customers. I think really hard about how to spend the money. And I think I really want to smile…And if I quit, I can’t come to [the host club].”

The host club gives the illusion of a glamorous, wealthy world, but in fact all the participants live on the fringes of society; hosts are very looked down on in Japan. And although it seems like a constant party at the club, the hosts are actually doing real damage to themselves, each drinking up to ten bottles of champagne per night in order to make more money from the overhead on the alcohol.

It’s a really fascinating and poignant documentary, a reflection on what people want from love and how far they will go to preserve the illusion of love. I also really appreciated that, even though the subject matter could be seen as salacious, the documentary takes a candid but nonjudgmental and non-sensationalized approach. For more information, check out the movie website and the screencaps below. UPDATE: Apparently you can watch the whole movie online here.